The passive - Easy Learning Grammar German

What is the passive?The passive is the form of the verb that is used when the subject of the verb is the person or thing that is affected by the action, for example, I was given, we were told, it had been made.

1Using the passive

In a normal, or active sentence, the ‘subject’ of the verb is the person or thing that carries out the action described by the verb. The ‘object’ of the verb is the person or thing that the verb ‘happens’ to.

Ryan (subject) hit (active verb) me (object).

In English, as in German, you can turn an active sentence round to make a passive sentence.

I (subject) was hit (passive verb) by Ryan (agent).

Very often, however, you cannot identify who is carrying out the action indicated by the verb.

I was hit in the face.The trees will be chopped down.I’ve been chosen to represent the school.

2Forming the passive

In English we use the verb to be with the past participle (was hit, was given) to form the passive and the word ‘by’ usually introduces the agent. In German the passive is formed using werden and the past participle, while the agent is introduced by

TipThere is a very important difference between German and English in sentences containing an indirect object. In English we can quite easily turn a normal (active) sentence with an indirect object into a passive sentence.ActiveSomeone (subject) gave (active verb) me (indirect object) a book (direct object).PassiveI (subject) was given (passive verb) a book (direct object).In German, an indirect object can NEVER become the subject of a passive verb. Instead, the indirect object must remain in the dative case, with either the direct object becoming the subject of the passive sentence OR use of an impersonal passive construction. Ein Buch (subject) wurde mir geschenkt.

3Avoiding the passive

Passives are not as common in German as in English. There are three main ways that German speakers express the same idea.

by using the pronoun man (meaning they or one) with a normal, active verb.

Man hatte es mir schon gesagt.

I had already been told.

Note that man is not always translated as they or one.

Man hatte es schon verkauft.

It had already been sold.

by using sich lassen plus a verb in the infinitive.

Das lässt sich machen.

That can be done.

by using an active tense where the agent of the action is known.

Susi schenkte ihr ein Auto.

Susi gave her a car.

INSTEAD OF

Ihr wurde von Susi ein Auto geschenkt.

She was given a car by Susi.

Key points

The present tense of the passive is formed by using the present tense of werden with the past participle.

In German, an indirect object can NEVER become the subject of a passive verb.

You can often avoid a passive construction by using the pronoun man or sich lassen plus an infinitive or an active tense where the agent is known.